The mathematical comprehensibility of PE mechanics
Mathematical "comprehensibility"
77 members have voted
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1. What degree of unaided mathematical "comprehensibility" do you want in the rules?
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Complete - A quick glance with at most a single easy calculation/estimate in my head should suffice for essentially any single "check".8
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Substantial - I want to understand at a glance a solid majority of the time, but it's OK or even good for things to get complicated on occasion.12
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Marginal - The basic system should probably be understandable, but making every action mathematically understandable is either not important or not good.13
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Rare - I embrace the complex math, and specifically don't want it to be easily understandable in play.4
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Match the situation - Simple math for "simple" situations, complex math for "complex" ones. (Please post some examples.)4
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Don't care, the game should tell me - Whether the math is easy or complex I'm happy as long as the game gives me enough feedback to make a sound decision.30
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Don't care, period - I'm judging the game solely on other attributes.4
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Other - Yet another internet poll misses my opinion by a mile. (Please enlighten us.)2
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2. To what degree should the game provide explicit information about possible results of an action? Should the degree depend on character skill?
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Substantial, None - The game should provide a lot of guiding information per "check" for everyone and in all circumstances. Probability, expectations values, etc. Detailed if not necessarily numerical.8
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Substantial, Somewhat - As above, except the degree or accuracy should be at least somewhat tied to character skill.5
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Substantial, Largely - As above, except the degree should be very tightly tied to character skill.12
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Basic, None - The game should provide enough guiding information per "check" for everyone to disinguish between great, reasonable, and poor likely outcomes in all circumstances. Not necessarily numerical.7
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Basic, Somewhat - As above, except the degree or accuracy should be at least somewhat tied to character skill.9
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Basic, Largely - As above, except the degree or accuracy should be very tightly tied to character skill.9
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Essentially none - It's my job to figure this stuff out, not the game's to provide it to me.18
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Don't care - I'm judging the game solely on other attributes.7
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Other - Please enlighten us.2
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3. To what degree would you be willing to compromise system function to ensure it is mathematically "comprehensible" without aid?
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Essentially none - Making a system that works is much more important than making sure I understand why it works.36
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A little - A few extra mechanical blotches are no big deal if better comprehensibility lets me use the rest of the system better.13
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A lot - I value easily understanding how the sytem works enough to put up with several extra minor mechanical blotches, and probably a few major ones.7
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Non-issue - The game should provide sufficient information that there is never a need to understand "without aid" in the first place.8
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Other - Please enlighten us.2
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Don't care - The poll author is taking this WAY too seriously. :)11
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